Tonight, it was Dirty Eagle Olly's turn to be on duty at Sergeant Fico's camp. The camp was located at the edge of a mysterious overgrown oasis, and the forest seemed to have sprung up overnight. Even though the veteran liked to drink a glass of wine every half an hour, he was very serious about his assigned duties. He had not touched a drop of wine since nightfall, and now it was almost dawn.
He patted his large caliber flintlock. He liked this weapon. After all, it was an "imported product" from the north. Its power was astonishing, and its accuracy was amazing. Just one shot was enough to take the life of a fiery mane bear. This was a symbol of honor. It was an extravagant wish for those inexperienced recruits to even touch it.
Olly sighed softly. Soon, his duty would be over, and he would be able to open a bottle of cherry wine, drink two mouthfuls, and have a good night's sleep.
Rustling sounds came from the bushes, and the veteran's various expressions disappeared in an instant. Then, he jumped up at a speed that most people would not be able to reach. In the no man's land of Kohor, they could be attacked by all kinds of strange creatures, such as velociraptors, mutated birds, evil races, and those annoying things that looked like big flowers or tree demons.
A soldier stumbled forward. His clothes were in a mess, and the badge on his chest was embroidered with a white bear hugging a tree. He looked at Olly in a sorry state, and then fell down. Olly didn't even have the time to catch his body.
"Nose!" Olly called out to his companion. "We're in trouble!"
A few seconds later, all the guards on duty arrived at the scene. A veteran soldier began to bandage the brave scout's wounds, but Olly sadly realized that the young man would not be able to recover. Sergeant Tilly's camp was not qualified to have a priest. When Olly leaned over, the scout eagerly reached out his hand and grabbed Olly's arm.
"Dwarf … Dwarf," the scout said in a hoarse voice. "Attack … the border camp, east … I'm not a deserter."
His eyes were open, and his stiff body fell to the ground. His brown hair was stained with blood.
"You're not a deserter. You've delivered the news. Well done, warrior." Olly clumsily patted his shoulder. "Now, rest well."
"He was hit in the back with an axe."
The veteran soldier who was bandaging the scout's wound said, "So ruthless. He lost so much blood. It's hard to imagine how this Vaegirs got here."
"The dwarves are coming again," said Olly. "May the glory of Azarra protect us."
A minute later, two ravens were released from the camp of Feco's expeditionary army. At the same time, in order to prevent any accidents, Blake, who was the fastest among them and had the best stamina, ran towards the castle in the north as fast as he could with his strong and long legs. At the same time, he prayed to the gods that he could make it in time.
The others were also packing up and preparing to head out to inform the various camps.
…
From late at night until dawn, the dwarves kept moving east, far away from the frontline command post of Vaegirs. Other than taking the initiative to attack the three outpost camps that they had to pass through, they had not encountered any resistance so far. As they passed through the overgrown oasis, they found the ruins of a camp.
The campfire had been extinguished, but the charcoal was still warm, and there was not much dust on it. The dwarves could not tell who had been stationed here before, because in the no man's land of Kohor, there were often rebels and bandits, and some of the evil races who had migrated far away would also set up camp here. It was not until they found some broken crossbows in the camp that they judged that this was the outpost of an army.
Macnee wondered if their actions were still unknown.
As time passed, the rift valley appeared on their left, and the winding road led them into gently rolling hills. It seemed that they were lucky. After crossing the hills, their military target was in front of them — the castle in the north.
Macnee looked at the sky, and the long night was near, and dawn was about to arrive, so he ordered them to stop moving forward. "Let's rest for a while. Brothers of the clan, calm down and pray to your gods, so that we can prepare ourselves for the battle, and let our souls welcome the possible death."
After a long night's journey, the dwarves would be tired no matter how strong their bodies were. They needed to rest for a while, and then they would launch the attack at the end of the journey.
…
General Duncan Alley, the head knight of the expeditionary army, woke up before dawn as usual. He quickly got out of bed, splashed water on his face, and rinsed his mouth. After that, he put on his clothes and began to trim his beard and lip. It was rare for him to care about his appearance, and Duncan saw that there were many bruises under his eyes from the mirror.
In the past few weeks, the expeditionary army was not doing well, and they were forced to give up the land of Myrnen and return to the Kohor war zone. The Confederation army was reorganizing the defeated soldiers, and some small-scale battles had already broken out at the border between Myrnen and Kohor. There was news that the enemy was talking nonsense, saying things like "the fate of the invaders is coming" and "everyone will die here".
"It seems that the victory of the dwarves has restored their confidence," Duncan thought.
Duncan thought, and having a sausage for breakfast with strong tea, he set out on his usual patrol route.
Although it was still early, the messenger still noticed him and greeted him with a fist salute. Duncan nodded, and the two went up the watchtower together. Dawn had arrived, and the forest and the hills were dyed pink and dark red by the morning light. The clouds in the sky were also painted with golden edges.
"Today will be a good day," the messenger said.
"I hope so," Duncan said. "Was there anything unusual last night?"
"I didn't see any signal or raven," the messenger said.
"It was very quiet last night, and everyone was sleeping soundly. But in the middle of the night, a patrol soldier was caught drinking at night and was sent to the court."
"The night was long, and I often drink to refresh myself. The judge should punish him to sweep the stable," Duncan smiled, and then suddenly narrowed his eyes. "Is that a raven?"
The messenger followed his gaze, and his face became dignified. "Yes."
Although ravens were quite obedient messengers, no one would like them now, because in times of war, these little black guys often carried bad news. When they appeared, it meant that something had happened.
The messenger blew the whistle and reached out to summon the raven. He took off the parchment and handed it to Duncan Allie without opening it.
"Bad news," Duncan said as he read.
"Scouts report that Macnee Thunderblade led the dwarves to attack the border camp of Virgil. They are coming east, and I have reason to suspect that the castle in the north is their next target."
After that, he handed the parchment to the messenger, and when the messenger carefully inspected it, he said, "Tashemur is eager to recover the lost land, and wants to use the power of the Thunderblade clan to further frustrate the opponent. If it were me, I would do the same. After all, we have the advantage. If there is enough time, the expeditionary army will find a way to deal with the dwarf sooner or later."
"What should we do?" The messenger looked up.
"Send a message to inform the commanders of the expeditionary army."
Duncan said as he quickly left the watchtower and ordered the guards waiting under the tower, "The castle in the north is in a state of war. Let the soldiers prepare for battle and send out all the scouts.
In addition, send a team of elite warriors to guard the square and be sure to keep the transmission array unblocked. We are going to give those little guys a hard time here. "
In order to ensure victory, a lot of preparation work needed to be done in an orderly manner. The castle in the north woke up quickly at dawn, and the soldiers were busy checking the city's defenses to ensure that every artillery and crossbow was in good condition. Spellcasters ran back and forth between the mage towers, and the light they emitted formed an elemental curtain.